Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will inaugurate 101 new Shramik Annapurna Centres across 28 districts on Friday, expanding the state government’s subsidised meal scheme for construction workers and their families.
With the launch of the new centres, the total number of operational Shramik Annapurna Centres will rise to 372. Patel will inaugurate a centre in Chanakyapuri, Ahmedabad, and serve meals to workers as part of a voluntary service initiative. Ministers, MPs and MLAs will also inaugurate centres at different locations across the state.
Under the Shramik Annapurna Yojana, construction workers and their family members can get nutritious, full meals for just ₹5 per person. The menu includes rotis, vegetables, pulses, rice, pickle, chillies and jaggery. Sweets such as sukhdi and sheera are also served once a week.
Currently, more than 35,000 meals are distributed daily through these centres. Since the scheme was launched, over five crore meals have been served. The addition of 101 centres is expected to increase daily meal distribution by around 10,000, taking the total to nearly 45,000 meals a day.
The scheme also offers doorstep meal delivery at construction sites where at least 50 workers are willing to use the facility. So far, around 27 lakh meals have been distributed directly at construction sites, helping workers access affordable food at their workplaces.